All Forum Posts by: Patrick M.

The real draw of the city is in what it provides vs. the expense (both monetarily and emotionally). The culture and cachet you pay for...

Right now NYC provides zero. After 9/11 all the bars, restaurants, museums and theatre's were still open. That is no longer the case. They will no doubt return, but things will be different. And I think that is something we can all agree on.

Having a spouse who works in the city I can tell you, this time it is different. Had we had the technology and infrastructure in place after 9/11, the city would not have rebounded the same. One world center, the crown of the financial district is struggling to fill space and bleeding tenants to NJ and elsewhere. 

After 9/11, there was a drain to Jersey City because of proximity. Now there is a drain to North Carolina, Texas and India because of technology.

Compounding this is the huge expense to live in the city. And, like an addict, the city and NY have become addicted to the huge tax. We have been inundated with those who have fled. It has throttled the property market in NJ where there is open space, great schools and an easy commute to the city for the occasional meeting. It is actually easier to get to Manhattan from many of these areas in NJ then from Brooklyn!

I will be surprised if the city/state government does not begin going after those landlords who warehouse. The mob which now runs the city is up in arms that they dare not rent their property to the lowest bidder!

I have little doubt that NY will return but it will be different then it is today. Just as business travel will return, but be different then today. 

NYC in the 80's was pretty damn cool, btw!

In many municipalities water stays with the property- so if your tenant doesn't pay it is on you. This is different from gas and electric.

My market provides water in multi-families, this is something you need to find out first because it may make your rental less attractive.

Additionally, after upgrades we found a significant decrease in water consumption. 

Hopefully the victim will do a better job running the building once she becomes the owner.

These are very tough times for a lot of good and decent landlords... I believe this last year will have made the surviving landlords better at their jobs... and shaken the less professional from the ranks.

We tore out old units when we renovated and have 2 sets, coin operated, that 7 of 9 units use. We have no problems either. I agree with @Bjorn Ahlblad that the new blue tooth systems look pretty cool and will only get better. Do you charge for your laundry?

If you have large units and the units will work- then that is a plus. Personally, I don't foresee ever moving off of my set-up because of the give and take of the apartments' sizes...

@Azeem Haq I would follow the advice of @Nathan Gesner

This is not relevant to their violation of the lease, but I am curious about the utilities in the other unit?

Utilities are something that the tenant really has full control over. When we switched over to auto-set back, limiting thermostats I had a tenant call me and ask why he couldn't get the thermostat up to 80 degrees (max 71). We pay for the heat. 

Personally, my family keeps our thermostat at 68 and below during the winter because we don't want to incur higher then necessary utility bills. Maybe I should crank it up and send a partial mortgage payment to the bank!

Todays' WSJ NYC Landlords warehousing apartments

you'll note that they are speaking anonymously ;)

@Joe Splitrock great points and I explained that I mistakenly included you in that post. My unlock fee was from 2 years ago and hasn't happened since. Nor have I had a late rent.

The "easy money" wasn't a brag, as others stated... it was a simple fact. They would have had me walk away from the conversation with my family patting me on my back, deceiving them of the truth. Not my style.

Truth be told, as I said before, after the very real hell of repositioning- this is easy money. Sorry, but if it wasn't I would get out. I shouldn't be a bad guy for saying that. We are on here partly to share our experiences ad success with others.

@Jay Hinrichs I appreciate that. Here in NJ they can't turn off the heat in winter... so I would have informed them of that ;)

I guess my service days have instilled in me the comfort, uniformity and equality that abiding by jointly agreed to set of rules provides.

Also, as I said earlier, we all have vastly different markets, rentals and tenant classes.

I live in a very litigious state... If I cut a family a break and not a wealth, young Asian professional, I am in trouble. And so the slippery slope begins...

Here in NJ it is illegal to deny someone based on Section 8 (or any other program). Every so often you will see an article in the paper about it happening. Up until about a year ago I would field inquiries from prospective tenants whether we accepted Section 8. I believe that the majority of these were watchdog groups or other enforcement agencies. The one or 2 that were not were extraordinarily flakey and never completed the initial intake process.

Out of curiosity I just checked my locations fair market rent which the voucher is based on and my rents are far beyond those listed.

@Mary M. it appears that you conflate being a bad landlord with having an opinion or business model different from you. 
Again these posts that make you cringe, ie me charging an unlock fee, has nothing to do with being a bad landlord. But you and others project your beliefs/business models on it and find that it does.

You are not the arbiter of who is and who is not a bad landlord. If you want to opine that it is a bad business model then that is fine, but it has zero to do with providing a safe, secure home and abiding by the terms of a lease and the laws governing it.

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with doing this for, and being motivated by, profit. I do this for money, as I said before- this actually makes me a far better landlord. Simply saying that makes liberals and some tenants cringe.

Look back at the original site which was shared, negating the clearly fake texts, can you say that anyone on here is promoting leaving a hole in the ceiling? Throwing Irish spring soap on a dead animal carcass?

There are certainly times when people come on here and ask, "do I have to fix this?" And the overwhelming reply by the regulars is the right answer.